I was in an electronic band as a vocalist for ten or so years, and called myself a musician. But didn’t know how to read or write music. The notes I hit were a happy accident.

I’ve dabbled with diddling around on soft synths and made some loops I enjoyed.

All the while, I have these vague senses from time to time, that I’m a dormant musical genius disguised as an undeveloped and lazy layperson.

The songs I get in my head sometimes. If only I knew how to share them. I think other people might like them as much as I do. Or maybe not. But there is, of course, only one way to find out.

This urge to learn music has been building up within me, but I’ve made a billion excuses not to explore these new frontiers. Mostly generic excuses about being uncomfortable with the great unknown. Or social anxiety that’s kept me suppressed in isolation. Depression, addiction, mental instability, stagnation, fear of failure, fear of success, feelings of unworthiness, constipation, dry mouth… wait, what am I even talking about anymore?

Recently, I was approached by a musician I respect quite fervently, a multi-instrumentalist by the name of Dave. His talent is otherworldly. If you’ve never heard of him, I am happy to be the first to tell you about Dave and his project, Dr. Green.

Already, I can sense the same potential for mind expansion in learning music.

I’ve got bass riffs rattling around in my head for the first time.

Heck, I used to barely even notice bass guitar in songs. That’s certainly about to change in a big way.

Learning how notes work, and developing my distinctions between terms like note, tone, frequency, pitch, and so on, is in and of itself a revelation for me. In my ignorance, I’ve often used many of these terms interchangeably.

Figuring out the parameters and limitations of notes, helps demystify the art of music creation, making it a more manageable and accessible.

Meanwhile, reflecting on the philosophical and existential aspects of music and its universal applications across all cultures is fascinating and exciting.

The plan is to dedicate a post or two per week to what I’m learning from this venture.

This will give me a chance to review and reinforce the incoming knowledge, while delving even deeper by articulating these concepts and experiences.

Furthermore, if you’re familiar with music theory and/or bass guitar, you can let me know if I deliver any confusing or erroneous information.

Or if there are any pro-tips you’d like to share, I’m all ears.

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